Natural Sunscreens

Which are the best sunscreens for skin safety and effective protection?

What can we do to shield ourselves from the worst of the sun's rays? How can we tell if our sun protection methods are environmentally friendly? This page tries to answer these questions.

The best sunscreens have to be hats!

And then there's parasols, T-shirts, saris and lungis and any other method of making shade for yourself. All those Texans, Mexicans and Ascot ladies just cannot be wrong!

Nevertheless, good as these methods are, there are times when you just want to run about in the sun without the encumbrance of too many clothes. Done, judiciously, this can be good for your health.

Fortunately, good does exist which is far better for the environment as well as our health in most cases.

Sunshine and Vitamins

New research at the University of California shows that the vitamin D that we get from the sun is more effective than that which is found in foods. It protects us from cancers and diabetes, so there are good arguments for getting a gradual healthy tan. Moderation in all things, I guess!

As part of your Greenfootsteps green living guide, here are some ideas on how to protect yourself from the sun's rays and still be environmentally friendly.

But first, a little about commercial sunscreens - the run of the mill non-organic kind..

"The ideal sunscreen would be highly effective at blocking both UVA and UVB rays, contain active ingredients that do not break down in the sun (so that the product remains effective), and contain active and inactive ingredients that are proven to be safe for both adults and children. Unfortunately, there is no sunscreen that meets all of these criteria,..." - EWG

One of the very best sunscreens - a broad-brimmed hat!

There are many expensive creams and lotions available in supermarkets and chemists to smooth on your skin in the hope of achieving a good tan without endangering your health.

The uncomfortable news is that some of the ingredients of many commercial sunscreens are toxic and can cause damage to your health. Many have been found to cause free radicals which can damage your metabolism.

A bit of a devil's bargain, really.

Even some sunscreens using mainly organic ingredients have been found to cause free-radical damage. So, if you buy such products, do your due diligence by reading the ingredients list and checking with organisations such as EWG.

The EWG (Environmental Working Group - a US organisation) has spent 18 months researching sun creams. They found that 84% of 783 sunscreen products tested offer inadequate protection from the sun or contain ingredients that give rise to significant safety concerns.

(If you would like to check particular products for yourself here is a link to the EWG site .)

Here's a brief look at some of the ingredients found in many sun creams and lotions.

Best Sun...

Simple soap is made by mixing an alkali such as potassium or sodium hydroxide (lye) with oils or fats. The resulting reaction - called saponification - produces a soapy substance which can then be refined to produce bars of soap.